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 Through MFP, USDA will provide up to $14.5 billion in direct
payments to impacted producers, part of a broader trade relief
package announced in late July. The sign-up period runs through
Dec. 6.
MFP payments will be made to producers of certain non-specialty
and specialty crops as well as dairy and hog producers.
Non-Specialty Crops
MFP payments will be made to producers of alfalfa hay, barley,
canola, corn, crambe, dried beans, dry peas, extra-long staple
cotton, flaxseed, lentils, long grain and medium grain rice,
millet, mustard seed, oats, peanuts, rapeseed, rye, safflower,
sesame seed, small and large chickpeas, sorghum, soybeans,
sunflower seed, temperate japonica rice, triticale, upland
cotton, and wheat.
MFP assistance for 2019 crops is based on a single county
payment rate multiplied by a farm’s total plantings to the MFP-eligible
crops in aggregate in 2019. Those per acre payments are not
dependent on which of those crops are planted in 2019. A
producer’s total payment-eligible plantings cannot exceed total
2018 plantings, unless excepted acres apply. View payment rates
by county.
Dairy and Hogs
Dairy producers who were in business as of June 1, 2019, will
receive a per hundredweight payment on production history, and
hog producers will receive a payment based on the number of live
hogs owned on a day selected by the producer between April 1 and
May 15, 2019.
Specialty Crops
MFP payments will also be made to producers of almonds,
cranberries, cultivated ginseng, fresh grapes, fresh sweet
cherries, hazelnuts, macadamia nuts, pecans, pistachios, and
walnuts. Each specialty crop will receive a payment based on
2019 acres of fruit or nut bearing plants, or in the case of
ginseng, based on harvested acres in 2019.
More Information
Payments will be made in up to three tranches, with the second
and third tranches evaluated as market conditions and trade
opportunities dictate. If conditions warrant, the second and
third tranches will be made in November and early January.
MFP payments are limited to a combined $250,000 for
non-specialty crops per person or legal entity. MFP payments are
also limited to a combined $250,000 for dairy and hog producers
and a combined $250,000 for specialty crop producers. However,
no applicant can receive more than $500,000. Eligible applicants
must also have an average adjusted gross income (AGI) for tax
years 2015, 2016, and 2017 of less than $900,000, or 75 percent
of the person’s or legal entity’s average AGI for those tax
years must have been derived from farming and ranching.
Applicants must also comply with the provisions of the Highly
Erodible Land and Wetland Conservation regulations.
More information can be found on farmers.gov/mfp, including
payment information and a program application.
Direct farm loans, which include microloans and emergency loans,
are financed and serviced by FSA, while guaranteed farm loans
are financed and serviced by commercial lenders. For guaranteed
loans, FSA provides a guarantee against possible financial loss
of principal and interest.
USDA Designates 102 Illinois Counties as
Primary Natural Disaster Areas
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue designated
102 Illinois counties as primary natural disaster areas.
Producers who suffered losses due to excessive moisture,
flooding and flash flooding that has occurred since Sept. 1,
2018, may be eligible for U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
Farm Service Agency (FSA) emergency loans.
The Illinois counties with the primary natural disaster
designation include Adams, Alexander, Bond, Boone, Brown,
Bureau, Calhoun, Carroll, Cass, Champaign, Christian, Clark,
Clay, Clinton, Coles, Cook, Crawford, Cumberland, DeKalb,
DeWitt, Douglas, DuPage, Edgar, Edwards, Effingham, Fayette,
Ford, Franklin, Fulton, Gallatin, Greene, Grundy, Hamilton,
Hancock, Hardin, Henderson, Henry, Iroquois, Jackson, Jasper,
Jefferson, Jersey, Jo Daviess, Johnson, Kane, Kankakee, Kendall,
Knox, Lake, LaSalle, Lawrence, Lee, Livingston, Logan,
McDonough, McHenry, McLean, Macon, Macoupin, Madison, Marion,
Marshall, Mason, Massac, Menard, Mercer, Monroe, Montgomery,
Morgan, Moultrie, Ogle, Peoria, Perry, Piatt, Pike, Pope,
Pulaski, Putnam, Randolph, Richland, Rock Island, St. Clair,
Saline, Sangamon, Schuyler, Scott, Shelby, Stark, Stephenson,
Tazewell, Union, Vermilion, Wabash, Warren, Washington, Wayne,
White, Whiteside, Will, Williamson, Winnebago, and Woodford.
This natural disaster designation allows FSA to extend
much-needed emergency credit to producers recovering from
natural disasters. Emergency loans can be used to meet various
recovery needs including the replacement of essential items such
as equipment or livestock, reorganization of a farming operation
or the refinance of certain debts.
Producers in the contiguous counties of Benton, Gibson, Knox,
Lake, Newton, Posey, Sullivan, Vermillion
Farm Loans
Direct farm loans, which include microloans and emergency loans,
are financed and serviced by FSA, while guaranteed farm loans
are financed and serviced by commercial lenders. For guaranteed
loans, FSA provides a guarantee against possible financial loss
of principal and interest.
For more information on FSA farm loans, visit www.fsa.usda.gov
or contact your local USDA service center.
Loan Servicing
There are options for Farm Service Agency loan customers during
financial stress. If you are a borrower who is unable to make
payments on a loan, contact your local FSA Farm Loan Manager to
learn about the options available to you.
Marketing Assistance Available for 2019
Crops
MALs provide financing and marketing assistance
for 2019 crop wheat, feed grains, soybeans and other oilseeds,
pulse crops, wool and honey. MALs provide producers interim
financing after harvest to help them meet cash flow needs
without having to sell their commodities when market prices are
typically at harvest-time lows.
A producer who is eligible to obtain an MAL, but agrees to forgo
the loan, may obtain an LDP if such a payment is available.
To be eligible for an MAL or an LDP, producers must have a
beneficial interest in the commodity, in addition to other
requirements. A producer retains beneficial interest when
control of and title to the commodity is maintained. For an LDP,
the producer must retain beneficial interest in the commodity
from the time of planting through the date the producer filed
Form CCC-633EZ (page 1) in the FSA County Office. For more
information, producers should contact their local FSA county
office or view the LDP Fact Sheet.
Maintaining the Quality of Farm-Stored Loan
Grain
Bins are ideally designed to hold a level volume of grain. When
bins are overfilled and grain is heaped up, airflow is hindered
and the chance of spoilage increases.
Producers who take out marketing assistance loans and use the
farm-stored grain as collateral should remember that they are
responsible for maintaining the quality of the grain through the
term of the loan.
Unauthorized Disposition of Grain
If loan grain has been disposed of through feeding, selling or
any other form of disposal without prior written authorization
from the county office staff, it is considered unauthorized
disposition. The financial penalties for unauthorized
dispositions are severe and a producer’s name will be placed on
a loan violation list for a two-year period. Always call before
you haul any grain under loan.
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Farm Storage Facility Loans
FSA’s Farm Storage Facility Loan (FSFL) program provides
low-interest financing to producers to build or upgrade storage
facilities and to purchase portable (new or used) structures,
equipment and storage and handling trucks.
The low-interest funds can be used to build or upgrade permanent
facilities to store commodities. Eligible commodities include corn,
grain sorghum, rice, soybeans, oats, peanuts, wheat, barley, minor
oilseeds harvested as whole grain, pulse crops (lentils, chickpeas
and dry peas), hay, honey, renewable biomass, fruits, nuts and
vegetables for cold storage facilities, floriculture, hops, maple
sap, rye, milk, cheese, butter, yogurt, meat and poultry
(unprocessed), eggs, and aquaculture (excluding systems that
maintain live animals through uptake and discharge of water).
Qualified facilities include grain bins, hay barns and cold storage
facilities for eligible commodities.
Loans up to $100,000 can be secured by a promissory note/security
agreement. Loans exceeding $100,000 require additional security.
Producers do not need to demonstrate the lack of commercial credit
availability to apply. The loans are designed to assist a diverse
range of farming operations, including small and mid-sized
businesses, new farmers, operations supplying local food and farmers
markets, non-traditional farm products, and underserved producers.
To learn more about the FSA Farm Storage Facility Loan, visit
www.fsa.
usda.gov/pricesupport or contact your local FSA county office.
To find your local FSA county office, visit
http://offices.usda.gov.
Storage and Handling Trucks Eligible for Farm
Storage Facility Loans
Farm Storage Facility Loans (FSFL) provide low-interest financing so
producers can build or upgrade facilities to store commodities. Some
storage and handling trucks are eligible for the FSFL. These
include:
Cold Storage Trucks-A van or truck designed to carry
perishable freight at specific temperatures. Cold storage trucks can
be ice-cooled or equipped with any variety of mechanical
refrigeration systems.
Flatbed Trucks-Truck with an open body in the form of a
platform with no side walls for easy loading and unloading. These
trucks can be categorized into different sizes which range from
light, medium, or heavy duty, compact or full-size, or short and
expandable beds.
Grain Trucks-A piece of farm equipment specially made to
accommodate grain products and are traditionally truck chassis units
with a mounted grain “dump” body where grain commodities are
transported from a field to either a grain elevator or a storage
bin.
Storage Trucks with a Chassis Unit-Commonly referred to as a
box truck, box van or straight truck, is a truck with a cargo body
mounted on the same chassis with the engine and cab.
To be eligible for FSFL, the storage and handling truck must be less
than 15 years old and have a maximum of four axles with a gross
weight rating of 60,000 pounds or less. Pick-up trucks, semi-trucks,
dump trucks, and simple insulated and ventilated vans are ineligible
for FSFL.
FSFL for storage and handling trucks must be $100,000 or less. FSFL-financed
storage and handling trucks must be used for the purpose for which
they were acquired for the entire FSFL term.
Eligible commodities include grains, oilseeds, pulse crops, hay,
honey, renewable biomass commodities, fruits and vegetables,
floriculture, hops, maple sap, milk, cheese, yogurt, butter, eggs,
meat/poultry (unprocessed), rye and aquaculture.
For more information or to apply for a FSFL, contact your local FSA
Service Center.
ASKFSA
Are you looking for answers to your FSA questions? Then ASK FSA at
askfsa.custhelp.com.
AskFSA is an online resource that helps you easily find information
and answers to your FSA questions no matter where you are or what
device you use. It is for ALL customers, including underserved
farmers and ranchers who wish to be enrolled in FSA loans, farm, and
conservation programs.
Through AskFSA you can:
-
Access our knowledge base 24/7
-
Receive answers to your questions faster
-
Submit a question and receive a timely response from an FSA
expert
-
Get
notifications when answers important to you and your farming
operation are updated
Customize your account settings and view responses
at any time.
Farm Safety
Flowing grain in a storage bin or gravity-flow wagon is like
quicksand — it can kill quickly. It takes less than five seconds for
a person caught in flowing grain to be trapped.
The mechanical operation of grain handling equipment also presents a
real danger. Augers, power take offs, and other moving parts can
grab people or clothing.
These hazards, along with pinch points and missing shields, are
dangerous enough for adults; not to mention children. It is always
advisable to keep children a safe distance from operating farm
equipment. Always use extra caution when backing or maneuvering farm
machinery. Ensure everyone is visibly clear and accounted for before
machinery is engaged.
FSA wants all farmers to have a productive crop year and that begins
with putting safety first.
August Interest Rates and Important Dates to
Remember
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Illinois Farm Service Agency
3500 Wabash Ave.
Springfield, IL 62711
Phone: 217-241-6600 ext.2
Fax: 855-800-1760
www.fsa.usda.gov/il
State Executive Director:
William J. Graff
State Committee:
James Reed-Chairperson
Melanie DeSutter-Member
Kirk Liefer-Member
George Obernagel III-Member
Troy Uphoff-Member
Administrative Officer:
Dan Puccetti
Division Chiefs:
Vicki Donaldson
John Gehrke
Natalie Prince
Randy Tillman
To find contact information for your local office go to
www.fsa.usda.gov/il
USDA is an equal opportunity
provider, employer and lender. To file a complaint of
discrimination, write: USDA, Office of the Assistant Secretary for
Civil Rights, Office of Adjudication, 1400 Independence Ave., SW,
Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call (866) 632-9992 (Toll-free Customer
Service), (800) 877-8339 (Local or Federal relay), (866) 377-8642
(Relay voice users). |
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